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THE RULE AND MEASURE 


or 


CHRISTIAN CHARITY, 



BY THE 

REV. THOMAS SMYTH, D. D, 


CHARLESTON, S.C.: 

Printed by b. jenkins, 100 hayne-street.- 

1847 . 





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73 


THE RULE AND MEASURE OF CHARITY. 


I would once more address you, my brethern, the ministers, 
officers, and members of the churches, in this public way, in 
the name and on behalf of the great cause of Christian phil¬ 
anthropy in all its forms, but especially in that of missionary 
enterprise, which it is made my special duty to promote. 

I will, therefore, endeavour to expound to you the rule and 
measure of Christian charity, as it is laid down by the Apostle in 
1 Cor., viii. 12. “ For if there be first a willing mind, it is 
accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to 
that he hath not.” Such an exposition will, I am aware, seem 
unseasonable and unnecessary. What, you will say, “are we to 
be continually lectured upon the duty of giving money to the 
endless objects for which our charity is demanded?” In reply 
I would say, that it is the duty of every minister of the gospel 
not only to preach that gospel to those who are still impenitent, 
but just as certainly to “ teach” those who have received the 
gospel, “ ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER CHRIST HAS COMMANDED.” 
But the great duty enjoined upon us by Christ, is to employ every 
means within our power, to extend the knowledge and the means 
of salvation to every creature at home and abroad; in our own 
neighbourhood ; in every part of our country ; and in every part 
of the world. And as this work at once puts into requisition all 
the available resources of every individual believer, it follows, 
that no duty is more imperative, none more important, and 
none more necessary to be enforced, than the duty of con- 


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4 


secrating our resources, as well as our bodies, souls, and spirits, 
to the cause of Christ. Without such consecration the work 
of the Lord cannot be carried on in any one department of 
Christian effort, and must therefore be abandoned. And while a 
cold and partial discharge of this duty characterizes Christians, 
it is as evident that but little good can be accomplished ; and that 
no millennial reign can ever arrive untill all who love the Lord 
Jesus Christ are found labouring for Him, and not for themselves, 
and freely distributing to His cause, all their possible means. 

In my former articles I proved, to the satisfaction, I believe, of 
all who read them, that charitable collections are an instituted 
means of grace, and a part of the public worship of Hod, and 
therefore an essential part of Christian faith and practice. No 
one, therefore, can possibly “ fulfil the work of the ministry,” 
who does not endeavour to train up his people in the habit of 
Christian liberality, so that they shall be found as “ ready to 
distribute, and as willing to communicate,” as to pray, to read 
the Scriptures, to be humble, to be holy, and to add to their 
faith every other grace. And as these various graces are to be 
preserved and increased by “ line upon line, and precept upon 
precept,” so is it also with this grace and duty of Christian 
charity. 

Further, the Christian minister is to be guided in the selection 
of his topics oi brotherly admonition by “ the analogy,” or 
proportion “ of faith,” and the relative importance and practical 
necessity of the various duties enjoined by Christ, and implied in 
Christianity. Now, the fulness and variety of Scripture on the 
subject of Christian charity, is very remarkable. No other duty 
is more clearly, more frequently, or more solemnly commanded. 
Such precepts as these—“ honor the Lord with thy substance and 
with the first fruits of all thine increase,” “ remember the words 
of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘ it is more blessed to give than 
to receive’ ”—are found every where throughout the sacred 
volume. “ As they therefore who must give account unto God” 
for the manner in which they have taught in his name, ministers 
must take heed that they give due prominence to this matter, 
“ whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear.” 


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5 

But still further, is there any clanger to which more than others, 
his people are exposed, and in consequence of which they are in 
danger of “ making shipwreck ” of their everlasting hopes ?—is 
it not, I ask, the duty of every Christian teacher, the more carefully, 
earnestly, and constantly to bring that danger to the view of his 
people, to forewarn them of it, and to endeavour to save them from 
its dreadful overthrow. But there is such an evil, and that evil 
is covetousness, —the love of money and of property, and the 
consequent unwillingness to part with it in the exercise ol charity, 
or to give it in that measure of liberality which the word of God 
enjoins. There is no other crime so often referred to and 
denounced both in the old and new Testament as this is, nor one 
that is so frequently adverted to, and so terribly condemned, by 
our blessed Saviour during his personal ministration on earth 
Neither does Christ exempt any churches from this duty, or from 
these charges because of their poverty. We suppose that we shall 
be allowed to be perfectly safe in asserting that the churches 
over which the apostle .Paul exercised a superintendence 
possessed, among their members, far less wealth than most 
churches in the present day. Opulent men, it is clear there 
were,—but when we remember that the Christian faith was a 
discreditable one,—the “ sect every where spoken against,”— 
a fellowship into which “ not many mighty, not many noble,” 
were called, we can have no doubt that, as compared with our 
own time and country, when every man who would be considered 
“respectable,” must have his pew in his church or chapel,— 
the Christians of the apostle’s day must have been truly “ an 
afflicted and poor people,” whose simple maxim was “ Having 
food and raiment, let us be therewith content.” 

Yet it was to these poor and despised societies that the apostle 
never wrote without using the most emphatic warnings against 
covetousness. And it deserves our particular attention, to observe 
the rank and order in which he places this “ respectable” vice. 
It is always classed with the most enormous offences. 

1 Cor. v. 11.—“ I have written unto to you not to keep com¬ 
pany, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or 
covetous ,—with such an one no not to eat.” 


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Ephes. v. 3.—“ But fornication, and all uncleanness, or 
covetousness , let it not be once named among you. For ye 
know that no unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idola¬ 
ter, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ or of God.” 

Coloss. iii. 5.—“ Mortify therefore your members which are 
upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil 
concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” 

Ileb. xiii. 5. “ Let your conversation be without covetousness , 
and be content with such things as ye have.” 

2 Tim. iii. 2.—“ In the last days perilous times shall come,— 
men shall be covetous .” 

That minister, therefore is “a false prophet,” a lying deceiv¬ 
er,” and the greatest enemy of his people, who attempts to hide, 
or invalidate, or soften down, the declarations of the most 
High God, who associates not misers merely, but all who are 
covetous, with the vilest of criminals; characterizes them as 
“idolaters;” threatens them with the direst punishment; and 
excludes them absolutely from the kingdom of heaven. And 
hence it is the greatest kindness a minister can possibly exhibit 
to his people, to bring before them the enormous guilt and danger 
of covetousness, and the imperative necessity of Christian liberal¬ 
ity. “ The love of money,” said Andrew Fuller, “ will, in all 
probability, prove the eternal overthrow of more characters 
among professing people, than any other sin, because it is almost 
the only crime which can be indulged, and a profession of religion 
at the same time supported.” And what evil is more prevalent 
or alarming at the present day, or more fatal to the progress of 
true piety than this;—and what is the result? By accumulating 
wealth beyond the amount necessary for the comfortable support 
of our family, and dependants, we multiply the attractions of the 
world ; wean our affections from the things that are above ; 
enhance our fondness for the vain, trifling and costly ornaments of 
life; minister to our taste for pomp and distinction; nurture our 
love of ease and indolence; encourage pride, arrogance and sel¬ 
fishness; esteem ourselves higher and better than others; become 
wise in our conceits, confident in our own wisdom, dogmatic in 
our own opinions and overbearing in our temper; and because we 



are independent of men and of any immediate want, we are 
insensibly led to feel independent of God , to set up our judgment 
in opposition to His, to dictate even to the eternal, and to go 
into eternity filled with a sense of our own importance. Such 
are the necessary tendencies at least, and in many cases the 
actual results of the possession of resources beyond our necessary 
and comfortable maintenance. And is not, I ask, this hoarding of 
property, the wide-spread and all-absorbing passion of the times ? 
And is not the established and universal opinion of society in 
favour of this practice, and in opposition to the teachings of 
heaven ? Most certainly it is. “ Men will praise thee when thou 
doest well for thyself,” and “ the wicked blesseth the covetous 
man whom the Lord abhorreth.” And it was to such persons 
our Saviour said, “ ye are they that justify yourselves before men, 
but God knoweth your heart, for that which is highly esteemed 
among men is abomination in the sight of God.” 

But if, as is universally allowed, covetousness is the great 
iniquity of our times, shall not the watchman of the Lord warn 
his people of it, and that so much the more as he sees how im¬ 
possible it is for them to escape from its soul-destroying snares 
without the most lively sense of their danger, the deepest convic¬ 
tion of its fatality, and the most constant watchfulness and 
earnest prayer? Certain it is, that every sincere Christian is 
anxious to know , in order that he may do, the will of his master, 
and the language of his heart is, “ I love thy commandments 
above gold, yea above fine gold, I esteem thy precepts concerning 
all things to be right, and I hate every false way.” Believing 
therefore these things, and that “ making collections for the poor, 
and other pious purposes” is, as the “Confession of Faith” 
teaches, an ordinance of the Church, just as much as prayer, 
singing praises, reading, expounding and preaching the word of 
God, or administering baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and that it 
has ever been so regarded from the very days of Christ and his 
apostles, I feel, brethren of the ministry, and of the membership, 
constrained to “ put you in remembrance of these things, though 
ye know them,” and though some of you may be “ established” in 
their belief. My own heart, and my own experience, tell me 


that there is no part of Christian duty more difficult, or mortf 
opposed to our natural propensities than this, and none therefore, 
to which we require more frequent and faithful urgency. And 
when you know that I feel myself included among those whom 
1 address, that I put upon you none other burdens than what I 
am myself willing, and obligated to assume, and that although I 
may not have large resources, it is at least as difficult for a man 
with moderate means to give his due proportion of these means, 
as it is for those who possess much to give to the full measure 
of their 1 ability and duty; when, I say, you remember these 
things, you will not impute to any other than kind and con¬ 
scientious motives my importunate anxiety that you may all es¬ 
cape the guilt and the doom of the covetous, or of the hireling, or 
the false prophet, and reap the reward of the self-denying and 
the liberal-hearted. 

What then, let me ask, is Christian charity, and what is the 
rule and measure by which every man is to be guided in his 
exercise of the grace of liberality, and his stewardship over his 
property ? 

As to the first question, the apostle says, that charity necessarily 
implies, and springs from a willing mind. The heart must be 
ready to givej predisposed, willing, prompt. Charity does not 
consist in the outward acts of benevolence, since these may proceed 
from improper motives,—-from selfishness, from a regard to the 
expectations and opinions of others, from pride, ostentation, vanity, 
or self-righteousness, Such acts may, therefore, be constrained, 
and arise neither from a disinterested nor a willing mind. The 
apostle, therefore, teaches, that a man may give all his goods to 
feed the poor, and yet have no charity, and no true piety. It is 
the will, the motive, the disposition, that gives worth to the oblation, 
and, as it regards divine acceptance, puts the poorest giver upon 
the same footing with the richest. A less amount may thus 
be the greater charity; and where there is nothing to give, God 
accepts the will, when, in Ilis judgment, it is sincere. That 
conduct then, is not true benevolence which arises from the work¬ 
ing of mere natural impulses of sympathy, generosity or kindness; 
or which is drawn from the reluctant giver by the force of extern 


9 


nal appeals to character, fortune or shame. To be really virtuous 
and Christian, charity must, in the first place, be voluntary. Our 
character lies in our will, which is endued with authority to com¬ 
mand, control and regulate all the other powers both of soul and 
body. In point of action, therefore, the will, as has been said, is 
the whole man; and a man is a moral agent, and to be regarded 
as acting either rightly or wrongly, only as he does, or does not, 
act by the free and cheerful dictate of his own will. 

But in the second place, the outward act of giving in order 
to be trul$ charitable, must be performed from a principle of 
duty. An action done for amusement; for the gratification of 
taste; under the impulse of any of the appetites of our nature ; or 
from a regard to the pride of station and of character ; is not 
virtuous , much less Christian. To become virtuous, an action must 
be performed, not only voluntarily, but also on the ground that it 
ought to be done. And it is only therefore when principle, that is, 
a sense of duty, operates on the will, and constrains it to deter¬ 
mine to bestow any given amount of money or of goods, that the 
action is truly virtuous. Then only is such a contribution given 
on virtuous grounds, and in opposition to all the difficulties and 
the hostile inclinations that stand in the way;—and then only is 
the act of giving true charity. 

But in the third place, there is something still wanting to consti¬ 
tute such an act of liberality, Christian charity. To be Christian 
charity, our gifts must be set apart not only willingly and because 
we think we ought to part with them,—they must be given also 
from a principle of love to Christ and regard to His will. If our 
charity is Christian, the Scriptures will be our standard, and the 
measure of giving there prescribed, will be our rule of beneficence. 
The Christian is one who realizes that “ he is not his own,” that 
he “ is the Lord’s,” that body soul and spirit have been redeemed 
by Christ, and are to be consecrated to Him ;—and that he is no 
longer, therefore, to live as his own master or for his own ends, or 
by his own opinions and rules, but unto “ Him who died for him 5 ’ 
and by whose blood he has been redeemed. Love to Christ is ? 
therefore, the great animating and governing principle of the 
Christian. And since Christ desires him to live while here below, 
2 


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for His glory, for the furtherance of His cause, and for the salvation 
and general good of men, the Christian endeavours to consecrate 
his property, his talents and his whole influence unto Him who hath 
“loved him and given Himself for him.” 

If then, brethren, you possess Christian charity, without which 
all your profession is as “the sounding brass and the tinkling 
cymbal,” you have “a willing mind.” You have an inward 
predisposition and desire to “ honour the Lord with your sub¬ 
stance.” You are determined to set apart all that He requires to 
His service, and the claims of benevolence. And feeling that your 
property is His and not your own, and that He has a just claim to 
all you are and all you possess, you have such a readiness and 
desire to give, that even if unsolicited, you would be found, like the 
Macedonians, “praying us with much entreaty to receive the 
gift.” If actuated by Christian charity, you are more afraid of 
not giving as much as you ought, than of giving too much. You 
feel, in respect to what you contribute, that you do not so 
much give it as if it were your own, but deliver it up to Him whose 
it is, and whose stewards you are. Your language is not 
that which is too commonly heard: “ well I suppose I must give you 
something” but it will be, as it ought to be, “ I will cheerfully 
render unto the Lord that which is His due.” You measure 
your duty not by what others give; not by appearances; not by 
what you have given before ; not by strongly excited feeling; not 
by the popularity of the cause; but by the word of God, by your 
duty to God in Christ, and by your consequent duty to your fellow 
men. And after you have given all that you can, you consider 
that you are an “unprofitable servant;”—look to the blood and 
righteousness of Christ alone for salvation ;—and are ashamed that 
you should give so little in return for the innumerable and ineal- 
culable benefits Christ has conferred on you. The language and 
the spirit of every true Christian is that of the late Lady Glen- 
orchy, as found in her Diary, and which she now speaks to us as 
a voice from the tomb: “O my gracious Saviour, as I have devot¬ 
ed myself, and all I have, unto ihee this day upon my knees, and 
with my heart and tongue, I would now in thy presence confirm it 
with my hand; and with all sincerity of heart, solemnly give up 


11 


and commit to thee rrly soul, body and spirit; my life, reputation* 
goods, friends, relations, health and outward comforts; my under¬ 
standing, will, and affections; in short all that I am and have, to 
be disposed of as shall be most for the glory of thy name, and eter¬ 
nal good of my soul. Guide and conduct me through life; be 
with me to support me and comfort me in death, and receive me 
at last into thy kingdom and glory, to be ever with thee throughout 
eternity. And the whole glory and praise shall be ascribed unto 
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God for ever and ever.” 

Have you then, this charity which never faileth ? If you have* 
blessed are ye,—yea “ blessed are the merciful, for they shall 
obtain mercy.” But if you are without this charity, then you 
are “ nothing your profession will profit younothing; your 
benefactions, however large you may think them, will be counted 
as less than nothing; your “hope will be destroyed;” all your 
vain confidence will be overthiown ; and “when weighed in the 
balance you will be found wanting.”* 

What then, you will now ask, is the rule and measure by 
which this charity is to be guided ? The rule by which 
Christian charity is to be measured and guided in its promptings 
is at the same time merciful and just. “For if there be first 
a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath and 
not according to that he hath not.” This rule is merciful * 
because it does not require impossibilities. It does not enjoin 
absolutely any given amount, irrespective of our circumstances. 
It does not so connect our giving with God’s blessing as that we 
shall not enjoy God’s favour if wholly unable to exercise liberality. 

It places charity essentially in the heart and the disposition* 
And if there exists the spirit of charity without the ability to 
manifest it in deeds, God accepts the will, and hears the prayer, 
and blesses the merciful desire. The poor and the rich are thus 
put upon an equality. The poor may gain as much acceptance 
and reward as the rich. If the poor can give nothing, they can 
still be truly charitable in the sight of God, “who looketh upon the 
heart,” and who will treasure up in remembrance all their 
tears of pity, their sighs and moans, their prayers and aspirations; 


* See Note A. 


their counsel and advice, their activity and zeal, their humility and 
lowliness, their faith and hope. Even their “ cup of cold water 
shall not lose its reward” but shall be gratefully acknowledged 
before an assembled universe. And if out of their deep poverty 
the poor can find in their heart to contribute something to the 
cause of Christ,—if depending upon future resources they are 
willing to give all they have, though it be but a mite, the gift will 
not be spurned by God, but will be esteemed by Him greater 
than the abundance of the rich, and receive at his hands a 
more munificent reward. 

Believer ! Hath the Lord increased. 

With bounteous hand thy store ? 

And while thy neighbour’s wealth hath ceased, 

Doth thine augment the more ! 

Then let the poor, the wretched, share 
A portion of thy gain; 

But give in faith, and give with pray’r 
Else all thy gifts are vain. 

‘ Tis writ that once the Saviour stood. 

While crowds the temple sought ; 

And with unerring glance review’d 
The varied gifts they brought. 

The rich, the great, swept proudly by. 

And cast their offerings in ; 

But oft the haughty step and eye 
Defiled the act with sin. 

At length a widow, poor and lone, 

Comes bent with years and woes ; 

Two mites are all she calls her own, 

And in those mites she throws. 

Ill can that weak and shrivelled hand 
The scanty pittance spare ; 

' But faith and love the gift demand, 

And lo! the gift is there. 

And doubtless some that gift beheld 
With wonder and with pain; 

And some the act had fain repell’d 
With ill-concealed disdain. 

But Christ the holy motive prized, 

And heard the contrite sigh ; 

And taught that deeds by men despised 
May have their praise on high. 

“ That widow mark, whose hoary head 
Has long with anguish striven ; 

Her’s is the noblest gift,” He said, 

“ Which has this day been given ! 

The rich, the great, whose means o’erflow, 

A fraction here let fall; 

But she from home of want and woe 
Comes forth end rives Her all 1” 


13 


“ I want to give the widow’s mite,” said an old lady worth her 
thousands, as she handed ten cents to give the bread of life to 
millions perishing in ignorance and sin. 

Said a gentleman of a large income, “ I suppose I must give 
my mite,” as he very reluctantly handed a dollar to one col¬ 
lecting funds to send the gospel to the destitute. 

It is not uncommon for those who receive the offerings of the 
people for the Lord’s treasury, to hear such allusions to the poor 
widow whose benevolence is recorded in Mark xii. 41-44. 
The example is evidently quoted with self- complacency, and 
as an apology for giving a very small sum, far below the ability 
God has given. Is it intended as a cloak for their covetousness, 
or do they rea lly think that the smaller the sum, the more acceptable 
it is to God ? It was not the smallness of what the widow gave that 
drew forth the commendation of the Saviour, but the greatness 
of her benevolence. The rich gave of their abundance, a part 
only of their surplus ; she gave all she had, yea, all her living. 

The measure of benevolence, then, is not the amount given, but 
the amount left from which the offering is taken. No person can 
exceed the poor widow in benevolence. How few come up to 
her! How many would call it an act of imprudence to imitate 
her! None can properly claim to imitate her till they give all 
they have, yea, all their living. 

How merciful then is the rule of Christian charity, as here 
laid down. How much does it bespeak the goodness of Him who 
“considers the poor,” whose tender mercies are over all His 
other works, and who while he allots to every one their measure 
of good and ill, of health and sickness, of wealth and poverty, 
equalizes to His own children every condition of life, whether 
prosperous or adverse; leaves no ground for murmuring or 
discontent; makes every thing to work together for good, and 
proportions the measure of their present peace and future blessed¬ 
ness not to their outward circumstances but to their inward faith, 
and hope, and holy devotedness. 

But while the rule of charity here laid down is thus merciful 
and compassionate to the poor, it is equally just in its application 
to those who have any means which might be employed in the 


14 


cause of charity. The same God who can discover the spirit and 
purpose of charity where there is nothing to bestow, can as certainly 
determine when there are means which might be devoted to His 
cause, were there first a willing and a charitable spirit- And just 
as certainly as God will accept the will for the deed, where there 
is no ability to perform it, will He reject the assumption of 
charity, where there is not the employment of every possible means 
in carrying that will out into the overt act of charity. The secrets 
of our condition are all known to God, however concealed from 
man. There is nothing hidden from His all-searching eye. And 
He will render to every man in exact accordance to what such a 
man could, and might, and ought to have done. “ For,” says 
the apostle, “it is accepted according to what a man hath.” 
There must be a proportion between a man’s means and his 
giving. He that has little must give, though he can give but little. 
He that has more must give more. He that has much must give 
much. And he that has large resources must give largely. 
All must give, and all must give in exact accordance with 

THE MEANS WHICH GOD HAS ENTRUSTED TO THEIR STEWARDSHIP. 
Nay more, the real charity of the gift and the consequent 
recompense of which it is worthy, according to the rule of the 
divine mercy (for in justice we can deserve nothing, since we 
can give nothing but what we have first received,) depends 
not only on the amount a man actually gives, but also as has 
been said, upon the amount in each case retained. On this prin¬ 
ciple Christ pronounced the widow to have given more than all 
the wealthy, for she retained nothing—and so, may we be as¬ 
sured, He judges now; and when, in the end, He shall reckon 
with those who, in the meantime are His stewards and no more— 
on this principle He will decide in every case. To withhold, 
from mere love of keeping, when God condescends to ask any¬ 
thing for His work—then to bestow our substance upon vanity, or 
unnecessary personal indulgence, to the setting aside of His 
claim, or to the crippling of our ability to answer it—is to expose 
ourselves to great evil. “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came 
to little ; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. 
Why ? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that 


15 


is waste, and ye run every man into his own house.” So to 
deal with God will certainly be to impoverish ourselves and them 
that come after us, and to deprive ourselves and them of God’s 
blessing on what we possess, and of the comfort in using His 
mercies that blessing implies. It will be to bring the “ moth on 
our garments”—“ the canker on our gold and silver.” The very 
“rust” of them—the evidence of their being unemployed, contrary 
to God’s mind—will “ witness against us,” and “ eat our flesh as 
it were fire!” 

God will not accept our offerings therefore, unless they are 
willingly and liberally bestowed. Such offerings are not charity. 
They are not evidences of a truly charitable and willing mind. 
They are merely given as excuses, to silence conscience, to 
meet the expectations of the church, to appease the frown of 
an otherwise dissatisfied community, and to compound with God 
for the full measure of our obligations. God will justly punish 
the imputation such offerings throw upon His character. He 
will reject all such gifts, however gr^at. He will “ spue them 
out of his mouth.” He will say to such contributors, as he did 
of old “ To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices 
unto me, saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offering of rams, 
and the fat of fed beasts. Bring no more vain oblations. Will 
a man rob God ? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say wherein 
have we robbed thee ? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed 
with a curse, because ye have robbed me, from the least even 
unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness.” 

So much then for the rule and measure of charity. Two 
questions, however, still present themselves, necessary to be an¬ 
swered, before we can fully understand this rule. First, what may 
a man be said to have, out of which he is required to give ? A 
man, we reply, has all that income which arises from his salary 
in office,—his wages for service, or his interest on money already 
accumulated. But further than this, a man has not only what 
he now possesses, but what, by proper industry and exertion, he 
might obtain ; and also what, by strict economy and self-denial, 
he might be able to save. Many persons, by a little increased 
exertion, could earn what would enable them to bestow something 


16 


in charity ; and it may be safely affirmed that millions are 
annually expended without necessity, even by Christian families 
in “ useless, nay worse than useless, luxuries of dress, equipage 
and decoration, in feasting and gluttony, and in the thousand 
ways by which we engender pride, impair health, and minister 
to the injury and ruin of the soul.” Now, for all that we have, 
for all that we waste, and for all that we might obtain, God 
holds us accountable ; and this is what He will make the stand¬ 
ard of our personal responsibility, when we “ give our account 
unto Him.” The Christian is therefore required to “ be diligent 
in business,” “working with his hands, the thing which is good, 
that he may have to give to him that needeth,” and ministers are 
to “charge them that are rich in the world that they be not high- 
minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, that they do good, that 
they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to com¬ 
municate, laying up for themselves a good foundation against 
the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. But 
they that will be rich fal],into temptation and a snare, and into 
many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction 
and perdition, for the love of money is the root of all evil• which 
while some coveted alter, they have erred from the faith, and 
pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 

The other question to be answered is, what is that proportion 
of what a man has, which the Lord demands, in the exercise of 
Christian charity. This amount must, it is plain, be in exact pro¬ 
portion to the means, which every individual possesses, or may 
secure by frugality, economy, and simplicity of living and of 
dress. And what that exact proportion is must be decided by such 
general rules as these: “ Honor the Lord with thy substance, 
and with the first fruits of thine increase.” “ Take no thought 
for the morrow.” “Freely ye have received, freely give.” 
“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by 
him in store, as God hath prospered him. He that soweth spar¬ 
ingly shall reap also sparingly, while he that soweth liberally 
shall reap also bountifully.” And if you still desire a more 
definite understanding of the amount implied in this proposition, 
I will give you the opinion of one of the wisest Christians that 


17 


have ever lived* I mean the venerable Baxter. “ A tenth part 
of their entire income is,” he says, “ too much for some, and 
much too little for others; but tor the most part it is, I think, 
as likely a proportion as it is fit for another to prescribe in 
particular.” And by this he means not a tenth, after deducting 
our expenses for our families or our persons, but a tenth of our 
whole income ; “ for*” says he, “ after such provision is deducted, 
it is far more than a tenth, if not all, that must be given.” Dr. 
Fell in his life of Dr. Hammond* says, “the rate and sum of what 
the doctor devoted, was the tenth of all his income* wherein he 
was so strictly punctual, that commonly the first thing he did 
was to compute and separate the poor man’s share.” And pre¬ 
cisely in the same spirit I have heard of an excellent minister of 
Christ, who having received an unexpected legacy of $50,000 
from a man who happened to enter the church in which he 
was preaching, and derived benefit from his ministry, immedi¬ 
ately set apart $5,000 for the cause of God, and, what was more 
remarkable, a friend who knew his habit of devoting a tenth to 
God, sent him a thousand pounds that his ten might be unbroken, 
and of this he also devoted ,£100. Let us be followers of such 
men, even as they followed Christ, remembering that He gave 
himself for us. 

Certain it is, that with comparatively few opportunities of 
doing good ; with much less enforcement to benevolence; and 
with no motive at all equal to the ever boundless obligations 
under which we are laid by the full disclosures of redeeming 
love; the Jewish people were anciently required to give one tenth 
of all their income of every kind, besides voluntary offerings, 
which were manifold.* 

My brethren, is not this discussion most timely and most neces¬ 
sary? Does it not concern us all ? Does it not enter deeply 
into our preparation to live holy lives and to die peaceful and 
happy deaths? Is there not much infidelity, and much practical 
atheism on this subject ? Do we not regard ourselves lords of 
all we possess? Do we not consider charity as something volun¬ 
tary and supererogatory; as something not essential to our 
Christian duty, and the omission of which does not invalidate our 
* See Note B. 


18 


Christian hopes? Is there not a disposition to regard collections 
for the poor and other pious objects as an intrusion upon the house 
of God ; an addition to God’s worship and ordinances; an 
unwelcome duty ; a device of ministers; and a mere worldly 
and carnal object ? Are there none among us who give 

nothing they can avoid ; who are full of excuses; and who love 

their money better than their souls, and better than their God? 
Are there not many, who never give on principle and according 
to the full measure of what God has given to them, and what 
God requires from them,—who give, therefore, merely by impulse, 
and only when they can give without in any way inconveni¬ 
encing themselves ? Are there not many who make their past 

givings an excuse for their present covetous withholdings, altho’ 
God has been still continuing to bless them? Are there not 
many who make temporary and partial losses of what they might 
have gained or might have retained, a ground for refusing to 
give according to what they still have and continue to possess ? 
Are there not many who make the contributions of other and 
poorer persons, or persons who are covetous and illiberal, the stand¬ 
ard of their benefactions? Are there not many who never deny 
themselves or their families whatever they desire, who neverthe¬ 
less, habitually deny the Lord, what He claims at their hands? 
Are there not many who feel unhappy, dissatisfied, or even 
fretted, when any cause of charity is pressed upon their attention? 
Are there not many who, if absent from church when any object 
is presented for its support, never think of giving their proportion 
towards it, even though it be one of the regular seasons of system¬ 
atic contribution ? And are not our churches altogether in 
fault when censure or discipline is extended towards other short¬ 
comings and sins of Christians, and when Christian professors who 
are known to be covetous and penurious in their charity are 
allowed to pass and unreproved? 

I confess, Brethren, I have deep feelings and great fears on 
these points ? I sit in judgment upon no individual, but “I have 
continual heaviness of heart” on account of this very matter. 
Bear with me, then, if even by general surmise I give pain to 
any heart conscious of a right spirit and a right purpose in 


19 


this matter. But be assured, the warning is not unnecessary, nor 
any subject more needful to be frequently, fully, and faithfully 
examined. 

The subject of Christian liberality, is a great, a practical and a 
vitally important matter, and stands intimately connected with 
your own personal salvation and the salvation of others, with the 
prosperity of our churches, and with the extension of the kingdom 
of Christ. 

Be ye then, my brethren, instructed and warned. Remember, 
that the mere approbation of the worth and goodness of any 
cause—the wishing of its prosperity and advancement—or an 
inclination to assist it —is not charity , because all these may exist, 
while there is no will to give —no recognition of our duty and 
obligation to give —and no conscientious conformity to the rule 
here laid down for our giving. The disposition of men’s hearts 
is revealed by those many excuses by which they apologize 
for their own conscious neglect of this great duty. “It is won¬ 
derful to consider,” says the celebrated Dr. South, “ how a 
command or call to be liberal either upon a civil or religious 
account, all of a sudden impoverishes the rich, breaks the 
merchant, shuts up every private man’s exchequer, and makes 
those men in a minute have nothing at all to give, who at the very 
same instant want nothing to spend. So that instead of relieving 
the poor, such a command strangely increases their number, and 
transforms rich men into beggars presently.” Now if a man 
really has nothing to give this is a sufficient reason for his not 
giving both to God and man, but if he has means from which 
he might give, such an excuse as Dr. South says, “ is an 
intolerable hypocrisy towards both. And do men in good earnest 
think that God will be put off so? Never then pretend that thou 
hast a heart to pray, while thou hast no heart to give, since he 
that serves Mammon with / his estate cannot possibly serve God 
with his heart ; for as in the heathen worship of God a sacrifice 
without a heart was accounted ominous, so, in the Christian 
worship of Him, a heart without a sacrifice is worthless and im¬ 
pertinent. Consider therefore,” he adds, “ with thyself that there 
is a God, who is not to be flammed off with lies, who knows 


N 


20 


i 


exactly what thou canstdoand what thou canst not; and con¬ 
sider in the next place, that it is not the best husbandry in the 
world to be damned to save” the expenses of Christian charity. 

Assuredly times are coming which will try men’s principles. 
“ Merchandize and hire shall be holiness to the Lord.” “Beyond 
their power” men will again “communicate, and pray with much 
entreaty for a reception of the gift.” Sordid excuses and reser¬ 
vations will be no longer made. Superfluity and luxury will be 
ashamed of their indulgence. Inconvenience and self-denial will 
pour in their offerings. And “ the gold and silver will be found 
to be the Lord’s,” not only in fact, but by the actual and willing 
consecration of its possessors. “ To whom much is given 
from them much is required.” And the question therefore, 
for each of us to decide in the presence of conscience and 
an omniscient God, is, “ am I doing all I can and all I ought, 

AND AM I DETERMINED, ACCORDING TO MY ABILITY, TO HONOUR THE 

Lord by a regular, systematic, and cheerful appropriation 
of my means, as God hath prospered me. May God enable 
us on the one hand to rejoice in the mercifulness of this rule, 
and on the other to acknowledge its justice, to behold the goodness 
of God to them that love him, and His severity towards them 
who are disobedient. And are any thinking seriously abou* 
their souls and their duty publicly to devote themselves to Christ 
and His cause? To such let me say, that when a certain young 
man came to Christ in order to know what good thing he was 
to do in order to obtain eternal life, the whole discourse of 
Christ consisted in this advice—“ Go sell all that thou hast, and 
give to the poor, and then come and follow me.” And if any 
man is now unwilling to give up his property and to hold it 
in trust for Christ and His cause, then it is as true of him now, as 
it was of the young man, that “he is none of Christ’s.” “He is 
not worthy of Him.” 

Merciful God, in whose hands our hearts are, incline them to do 
Thy will, and to spend and be spent in Thy service. 


21 


Note A. 


THE PARSIMONY OF PROFESSING CHRISTIANS. 

In my opinion, there is nothing which lays the Church more 
open to infidel attack and contempt, than its parsimony to the 
cause of Christ. Professors of religion, in general, give nothing 
in comparison to what they ought to give. Some literally give 
nothing, or somewhere in that immediate neighbourhood. I shall 
not inquire whether such persons are really Christian men. One 
might almost question whether they are human. 

I have used the word give ; I must correct my language. De¬ 
liver up , I ought to say, when speaking of Christians who have 
so often acknowledged themselves as not their own, but themselves 
and their's to be the Lord’s. Not a farthing, or not much more, 
will some of these deliver up, of all that their Lord has given 
them in trust. What stewards we Christians are! We act as 
if we were undisputed owners and sovereign proprietors of all; 
when we know, and, if pressed, acknowledge, it is no such thing. 
The infidels know that we profess to be but stewards, and in our 
devotional hours, we write on everything we have, “ This is the 
Lord’s;” and they naturally expect to see some correspondence 
between our profession and practice; and when they perceive it 
is but bare profession, and that we do not mean anything by it, 
they are very apt to conclude that this is true of our religion 
generally. Moreover, these shrewd characters see common 
humanity constraining men of the world to greater liberality than 
the love of Christ constrains his reputed disciples to exercise ; and 
that, though they hear Christians continually saying that there 
is no principle which has such power to carry men out to deeds 
and sacrifices of benevolence as the love of Christ. What must 
they conclude from this ? Either that there is no such princi, 
pie, or that Christians do not feel the force of it. 

Again : Infidels hear us speak of giving, as lending to the 
Lord. Now, they don’t believe any such thing; but since we 
do, they are astonished that we do not lend more liberally to such a 
paymaster, and on such security. They are in the habit of 
lending liberally, and they wonder Christians do not. They 
hear us also repeating and admiring that sentiment, “ It is more 
blessed to give than to receive.” Must they not think us insincere 



22 


in our commendations of this sentiment, or else that we have 
very faint aspirations after the more blessed part, when they look 
on, and see with how much more complacency and good humour 
we receive a great deal, than give a little. 

But about the parsimony of Christians. I do not hesitate to 
say, having well considered the import of my words, that men are 
not so mean (I must use the word) to any cause, as Christians, in 
general, are to Christ’s cause. They give more sparingly to it than 
to any other. 

Many persons never give until they have done everything else ; 
and when any pressure occurs, it is the first thing they stop doing. 
They go on spending, not only for necessaries and comforts, but 
even for luxuries, never minding the pressure. They only stop 
giving; commencing retrenchment with their donations, and 
generally ending it with them. They are liberal still for every* 
thing but charity. You could never suppose, to look at their 
dress, equipage, furniture, table, &c., that the times were any way 
hard. No; they forget that, till they are called on to give ; then 
they feel the pressure of the times. 

The manner in which some persons give is worthy of no very 
commendatory notice. They say, when applied to, “ well, I 
suppose I must give you something.” Mark the word must , where 
will ought to be ; and give where contribute , or strictly speaking, 
yield up, should have been ; and you —give you. It is no such 
thing. The man is no beggar. He is not asking any thing for 
himself. He has himself given to the same object; and more 
than money—his time and thought, his cares and efforts ;—nay, 
perhaps, has given his own person to the service which he 
asks others to aid by their pecuniary contributions. Christians, 
so called, talk of giving to the support of missionaraies, as if they 
laid the missionaries under some obligations to them. Prepos* 
terous ! How it sounds to hear a real Christian indulge such 
a remark in reference to the richly gifted, and profoundly learned 
Martyn, who, when he might have shone at home, went into the 
sickly East, to hold up the light of life in those dark places 1 
To call men who give themselves to the work of the Lord, and 
to labour and die for their fellow-men, the proteges, beneficiaries, 
and obligated dependants of us who live and luxuriate at home, 
is really too bad ; men, who, when the alternative is to go or 
send, consent to the weightier branch of the alternative, and go ; 
that they should be looked upon as inferior to us, who choose 
the lighter part of the alternative, and only send ! I say it is 
too bad. “I must give you something !” Really ! 

I do not wonder, for my part, that God does not give “ the 
kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under 
the whole heaven,” to the present generation of saints. Their 
souls are not sufficiently expanded to receive it. It will require 
a race of Christians of great hearts to take possession of the 
world in the name of Jesus-—Christians who shall be constrained 


23 


by his love, and who shall feel the full force of the consideration 
presented in 2 Cor. viii. 9. 

Many Christians now think they feel it; but is it feeling the 
force of that consideration, for a man who has an income of 
some thousands a year, to give a few surplus pounds annually 
to support missions, or to circulate the Bible ? I do not say 
that, because Christ impoverished himself, therefore all his fol¬ 
lowers ought literally to do the same; but I say they ought to 
come nearer to it than they do. If, being rich, they should not 
become poor, as he did, yet surely they ought to be more free 
with their riches. If the Master gave his whole principal, certain¬ 
ly the disciples might give their interest. That would not be too 
closely imitating him. If He emptied himself, they at least might 
forego further accumulation. They need not become poor; but 
why should they be so solicitous to become more rich ? That is 
being as unlike the model as possible* 


Note B. 


THE CHARITIES REQUIRED BY THE JEWISH LAW. 

The Jews were required to give one tenth—a tithe—of all their 
income to the Lord. 

There are probably many who are in the habit of regarding' 
the tithe system , or dedication of one-tenth to religious uses, as 
a part of the Mosaic or Jewish economy, and only intended, like 
many other of their laws, to serve a temporary purpose, and 
abrogated on the dissolution of that economy. It will be perceived* 
however, by reference to the 14th chapter of the book of Genesis, 
that this principle was admitted and this practice maintained 
before the era of the Jewish Institute. For, on his return from 
the slaughter of the kings, and before the change of his name* 
Abram was_ met by Melchizedek priest of the most High God; 



24 


LIBRARY of congress 


.._JI 

0 019 830 482 7 


and having received his benediction, the patriarch gave him tithes 
of all 

Again, we have another illustration in the case of the patriarch 
Jacob, recorded in the 28th chapter of Genesis. After the 
vision of the ladder which he had at Bethel, (or Luz,) “Jacob 
vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and keep me in 
this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to 
put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace ; then 
shall the Lord be my God: and this stone which I have set for 
a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give 
me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” 

Grotius argues very justly, that those virtues required by God 
under the ancient economy, ought to be fulfilled by Christians 
now, in a greater degree, from their superior knowledge and 
higher motives, and because the promises of heaven are more 
clear. And he instances in the law of the Sabbath, and of 
tithes.”* 

But their tithes were far from being all the charity required 
of the Jews. They never came before the Lord in public 
worship without an offering of some sort. They had laws of 
compulsory giving and laws,of voluntary giving—the one neces¬ 
sary and the other left to the liberality of the donor. There 
were two chests in every synagogue, and regular weekly col¬ 
lections, besides special collections, when each member was 
solicited individually to give. 

The real amount the Jews gave in charity could not, therefore, 
have been less than one third of all their income. 

* On War, Vol. 1., p. 39. 


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